I refuse, point-blank, to be guilted into sending Christmas cards. I gave it up seven years ago, when my mother died at the beginning of December. I have never sent them since. I wish people would quit sending them to me! They always seem to contain those flippin' "brag letters" that, really, nobody who isn't intimately connected with the family care about even remotely. If I'm not close enough to you to hear the news as it happens, do you think I really want to get one of those "oh, aren't we so special" epistles during a season where I'm already feeling more than a little cynical?

'Twas bad enough when postage was almost reasonable. Not now. Never again!

I refuse, point-blank, to be guilted into sending Christmas cards. I gave it up seven years ago, when my mother died at the beginning of December. I have never sent them since. I wish people would quit sending them to me! They always seem to contain those flippin' "brag letters" that, really, nobody who isn't intimately connected with the family care about even remotely. If I'm not close enough to you to hear the news as it happens, do you think I really want to get one of those "oh, aren't we so special" epistles during a season where I'm already feeling more than a little cynical?

'Twas bad enough when postage was almost reasonable. Not now. Never again!

You don't need to open them. Just toss them and don't look back. We are not trying to make you feel guilty, honest.

I drop people after 2 years, and I hope they don't get as upset as you do when I sent that second one!

I am sorry you are getting so stirred up about it, because it really isn't that big a deal to most of us.

I refuse, point-blank, to be guilted into sending Christmas cards. I gave it up seven years ago, when my mother died at the beginning of December. I have never sent them since. I wish people would quit sending them to me! They always seem to contain those flippin' "brag letters" that, really, nobody who isn't intimately connected with the family care about even remotely. If I'm not close enough to you to hear the news as it happens, do you think I really want to get one of those "oh, aren't we so special" epistles during a season where I'm already feeling more than a little cynical?

'Twas bad enough when postage was almost reasonable. Not now. Never again!

You don't need to open them. Just toss them and don't look back. We are not trying to make you feel guilty, honest.

I drop people after 2 years, and I hope they don't get as upset as you do when I sent that second one!

I am sorry you are getting so stirred up about it, because it really isn't that big a deal to most of us.

I love getting them - especially the fun ones, like the friend who sends out a little newsletter of random things, including books she read that year, and one time, her campaign platform if she ever ran for president (my favorite was the implementation of a soy sauce packet recycling program).

Logged

What part of v_e = \sqrt{\frac{2GM}{r}} don't you understand? It's only rocket science!

"The problem with re-examining your brilliant ideas is that more often than not, you discover they are the intellectual equivalent of saying, 'Hold my beer and watch this!'" - Cindy Couture

My apologies, Luci. I'm speaking of people who still send them to me, seven years later. And who have been known to ask me, "Oh, didn't you get my Christmas card?"

You're an eHellion. You know how not to offend people--or you wouldn't be here, right?

Sending Christmas cards is not a guilt based operation to get people to feel bad about not sending them back. I see nothing wrong with sending cards to someone for 7 years unreciprocated. It seems like a nice thing to do.

My apologies, Luci. I'm speaking of people who still send them to me, seven years later. And who have been known to ask me, "Oh, didn't you get my Christmas card?"

You're an eHellion. You know how not to offend people--or you wouldn't be here, right?

Sending Christmas cards is not a guilt based operation to get people to feel bad about not sending them back. I see nothing wrong with sending cards to someone for 7 years unreciprocated. It seems like a nice thing to do.

Me too. I send lots of Christmas cards to people who never send them back to me. And I don't care! I just want them to know that I am thinking of them during the holidays. It's a little thing that may mean nothing to them, but it means something to me.

I don't understand getting so upset about people letting you know they're thinking of you.

My apologies, Luci. I'm speaking of people who still send them to me, seven years later. And who have been known to ask me, "Oh, didn't you get my Christmas card?"

That, to me, sounds like someone really wants a Christmas card back. And JennJenn doesn't want to send them or be put on the spot. I'm not sure what to tell JennJenn about what to do with them, save for thinking that "return to sender" feels rude. Not sure about anything else.

I've never even cooked duck, it is too expensive here. Plucking them sounds like it might be too difficult to be fun, so if I do save up I'll get fillets with the skin on them.

Giving them a quick scald does help.

I do have meat ducks as well, but the 'I ain't plucking it' policy has been in place for those for a long time. Technically though, those aren't my ducks, they just live here and their owner comes by for one about once a month.

Another holiday hill to die on - Thanksgiving dinner is served between 2 and 4 and is followed by an hour or two of various board games. During that period, I will NOT be answering the phone. Since everyone who has me as an emergency contact is at my table, whatever you want can wait a couple hours.

This year, I'm not putting up with any nonsense from my sister. If she complains about her gift, I'm taking it back, whether she protests or not. If she is rude or nasty, I'm leaving, even if dinner's only half over.

I didn't have to die on mine! For years, our extended family gathering has been ON Christmas Day, no exceptions. That makes it a lot harder as the families keep expanding, and it means I get to spend 4 hours in the car on Christmas Day, what fun. This year, we wanted to push to have it on Christmas Eve or the weekend before instead. I was expecting a big fuss and probably not actually getting it moved. Instead, as we were finishing up Thanksgiving dinner and the ladies of the family were mostly all gathered, one of them brought up "We should plan Christmas." I mentioned my idea -- and everyone jumped on it!! We're not doing it at my grandma's house for the first time this year, because of her health problems, and I guess everyone decided if we were going to change that much, we might as well change everything. So we're going to do the afternoon of Christmas Sunday. I'm SO excited!

I was going to start a new thread asking what I should do about the holidays...then I revisited this thread and realized that...

I will most likely

DO

ABSOLUTELY

NOTHING.

And I am giving myself permission to do so.And anything I will do will be for myself and my own well being and continued sanity.

When my mom was alive she "ran" all family celebrations, because she wanted us to do things as a family.After she died, my father and I tried to keep the traditions, but some things weren't the same without her.Now my father is remarried and moved away and celebrated Thanksgiving with his wife's family. He isn't on speaking terms with my brothers, they aren't on speaking terms with him, and I think they all have their heads up their rear ends and I'm sick of being in the middle. So Merry dang Xmas to me: if I feel like a tree I'll put one up for myself - otherwise to heck with it. If my brothers want Xmas breakfast like we've been having through the years, they're welcome to ask for my recipes (or else chip in for groceries and/or go shopping with me, help me clean off the dining room table, and set the dang thing while they're at it).